Taveuni market value $50m

Speaking at a recent public consultation with the people of Vuna Village in the south-end of Taveuni, police commissioner Brigadier General Ioane Naivalurua told them that dalo and yaqona contributed immensely to the economy on the island.

Brig-Gen Naivalurua said their recent tour involved an assessment of the economic value and activities of certain regions around the country.

“The economic value of a place will be the new dimension of policing,” he said while responding to concerns of farm theft on Taveuni.

“The island also contributes 70 per cent of exported dalo in Fiji while other local markets contribute the other 30 per cent of the commodity.

“While talking to an ANZ banker on my way to the island, I had learnt from him that more than $50,000 is banked around the island on a monthly basis.”

The commissioner urged the communities and the police to work together in a concerted effort to reduce farm thefts on the island.

“It is easy to locate culprits since there is only one gateway out of the island and if we can monitor this, we can catch the thieves.

“We will also ensure relevant authorities monitor that buyers on the island are operating under proper licences.

“Everything will fail if we do not come on board and work together to address the issue.”

A report is being compiled on how to tackle crop thefts on the island.